


Moonlight Shadow

by Lakritzwolf



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Fili is a werewolf, Kili is a nerd, Lycantrophy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 19:12:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14267709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lakritzwolf/pseuds/Lakritzwolf
Summary: My prize for calicoskatts on tumblr  for the WinterFRE 2018.The idea was something with camping or something with a werewolf Fili, and I somehow managed to do a bit of both. I hope you like it!





	Moonlight Shadow

Fili had by now become really, really sick and tired of moving all the time. As if it wasn’t enough that he had to deal each and every month with his… condition as such, but to avoid being found out he also regularly shifted workplaces and hometowns so no one would ask awkward questions about his monthly disappearances.

And Fili loved this city. Bustling, lively, and with a friendly flair. And big enough that one could easily vanish into anonymity as well. He had just moved here a few months ago, no one was giving him much notice yet because he was an IT guy and a nerd, so what if he had to do ‘very important stuff’ once a month.

But this…

This?

He hated modern bosses.

He and a few others regularly played buzzword bingo during meetings, and they usually all won by the time the meeting was concluded. Synergy effects, efficiency, win-win, quick-fix, benchmark, parameterized, step-changes, task focused, event horizon – you name it. And now, the boss wanted to do some team-building exercises. But not by locking them in a room for two days to throw balls at each other, no… an excursion. Teambuilding exercises in a totally outside-the-box (bingo!) experience.

A whole weekend out in the lovely Scottish countryside, in a lovely remote estate, for the true spiritual nature journey to your inner self.

Fili had enough of that every fucking month, thank you very much.

But the real problem was – of course, just his luck – the moon phase.

He would have called in sick, but… but. But there was this guy from PR and he was one of the organizers of the whole event. And Fili would be lying if he had said a weekend somewhere remote with that guy wasn’t tempting. There still remained the issue of the moon. He wanted to cancel, and he went to talk to Kili if that was possible. Because, of course, the whole thing was put together on so short notice that getting sick would have given reason to suspicion. Because, of course, just his luck, full moon would coincide with the second evening.

Kili looked at him and said ‘oh’.

Fili felt like kicking a puppy. With combat boots. Those eyes were the death of him.

So in a fit of madness, Fili didn’t cancel after all, and then he sat at home while he packed a duffle bag and asked himself how on earth he was going to survive that weekend if he had to spend Saturday night buried in the shrubbery somewhere. If someone were to find him… it didn’t bear thinking about.

None of the people boarding the bus that Friday morning were especially enthusiastic, apart from the boss, of course. He talked via the microphone about the great teambuilding opportunities in this amazing landscape, and in between his usual boss-speech pointed out various features of the landscape as if he was also a tour guide. It didn’t stop him from incorporating his usual bullshit, however, and all the holistic, strategic roles of the human capital (buzz, buzz, buzz) to empower corporate culture with value-added core competencies (bingo!) and no one could close an eye during the three hour ride.

To say their boss’ face fell when they finally arrived was an understatement, because the ‘rustic charm’ of the location turned out much more rustic than he had bargained for.

Fili looked at Kili who shrugged. “I tried to tell him,” the latter whispered. They were sitting next to each other, something that Kili had initiated because Fili hadn’t quite gotten the guts together. 

Fili could only shrug in return.

There was no electricity, the lamps were all gas lamps. There was no water, just a pump a la _Little house on the prairie_. There was a composting toilet.

The boss gave Kili a glaring look.

“I mentioned the thing with the water and electricity,” Kili said.

“Yes you did but… I thought…” The boss growled. “I thought there would be facilities here somewhere.”

It wasn’t quite clear which part of ‘no running water and no electricity’ he hadn’t understood, but he usually only heard the things he wanted to hear.

So now they were stuck in pre-industrial era woodcutter cabins for the weekend.

Fili and Kili shared a bunk bed, Fili at the bottom, Kili at the top. The fact that Kili made ‘top and bottom’ jokes with a wink made Fili slightly uncomfortable, in a very physical kind of way.

“Someone should have brought a guitar,” one of their colleagues remarked after dinner as they sat around a campfire outside. Those of them who were ready to brave midges and mosquitoes, that is.

Of course, Kili had brought a guitar. Fili spent most of the night at the fire outside, listening to Kili’s voice, and daydreaming of things that weren’t his to take, and worrying about tomorrow night. But they were so remote here that he might just get away with it. He would drop the empty bottle of Scotch he had brought somewhere and blame alcohol for his sleeping rough in the woods that night. Yes, that would work.

It had to.

Bereft of computers and PowerPoint presentations, and having to rely on laptop batteries the boss had to improvise somewhat, and the teambuilding exercises became a bit more rustic as well. No one was dressed for chopping wood or climbing trees, however, and the whole thing turned from _Little house on the prairie_ into _I’m a celebrity get me out of here_.

Fili was already restless during dinner, his skin was itching, and he had to make a break for it very soon. So after dinner, when some of them headed for an early night and the others lit the fire, Fili stole away, grabbed the empty bottle, and slunk into the shadows behind the hovel. He drank the last mouthful he had left in the bottle and smeared the last drops over his face and beard, then dropped the bottle and vanished into the forest.

It was dark already, and Fili didn’t get very far before he had to give in, and he tore his clothes off as if they were burning him.

After all those years he had grown somewhat accustomed to the agony of transformation, and had found that accepting it instead of resisting and denying made it more bearable. His bones stretched and shrunk, fur spread over his body, and teeth grew in his mouth; at the same time, his senses became so sharp the world turned crystal clear around him, despite losing all colour.

It was still mostly Fili in the creature, even though he had to struggle with the instincts of the beast sometimes. That, too, had become easier over the years. He got up and shook himself, then stretched his muscles that bulged under his fur. He was ready to run, to stride through the night, letting the beast roam free without worrying about discovery.

Or so he had thought.

He smelled him before he could hear him, and slowly retreated into the shrubbery.

“Fili?”

Kili had reached the little clearing out of breath, and now faltered as he looked at the heap of clothes.

“Fili?” He headed towards them and picked up Fili’s shirt. “Fuck...” He dropped it again. “Fili? Fili, where are you?”

He was clearly close to panic; Fili could smell his fear from where he crouched.

“Fili! Shit shit shit...” Kili looked around. “Fili! I heard a wolf! We could hear a fucking wolf! FILI!”

Well shit.

Two things happened simultaneously.

Fili was worried about discovery. But he was also worried about Kili, who was panicking because of a wolf and his colleague apparently running plastered and butt-ass naked around in the woods somewhere.

_Fuck..._

The beast picked up Kili’s scent with a soft growl.

On the little clearing, Kili froze. He looked as if he was about to piss himself, and Fili’s human mind realised that he had heard the growl. And quite obviously, Kili believed he was done for. He sank to the ground, amidst the heap of Fili’s clothes, and stared right at Fili’s hiding place.

_Shit Kili don’t be scared it’s only me..._

**Mate.**

_Ooooh...no no no no no no..._

**You’re mine...**

The beast was aroused. Fili wasn’t, not at this point, because Kili was terrified. There was, however, an overlap, the dark place, as Fili called it, where his mind and that of the beast merged into one.

And that place was what made Fili move, despite himself.

Kili whimpered when the shrubbery parted to reveal a furred creature. He was petrified, unable to move, and he stared at the wolf, his face wet with tears. Fili was sure he could see his life flash in front of his eyes. 

_Fuck._

**Fuck.**

_Shut the fuck up._

There was no way to salvage the situation now without revealing himself. Fili had never been so torn between beast and man. He wanted him. He wanted him not to be scared. He must not know.

**Mine.**

_Fuck you._

**Fuck him.**

_For fuck’s sake!_

Kili curled up into a ball with a high-pitched, suffocated squeal. Fili realised that he had growled again, and Kili had no idea about his inner conflict, obviously.

Fili had reached him, and Kili was crying softly into Fili’s shirt that he had bunched up into a ball and was pressing against his face.

Fighting for control, Fili sighed, closed his eyes, and nudged Kili with his nose. Kili yelped and uncurled like a spring; on his back now he stared at Fili with terrified eyes.

Fili didn’t move, and neither did Kili.

He had to reveal himself before Kili died of a heart attack. The problem was that Fili couldn’t speak in this form.

_Come on Kili, put two and two together... Fili vanished into the woods, you hear a wolf, you find a heap of clothes, and you see a wolf-creature that doesn’t attack you or run away..._

And everyone who did put two and two together in this situation would be a case for the loony bin.

Which made it very likely Kili would keep this to himself. Not fair, but what could Fili do about it now?

Fili carefully lowered himself down onto his belly with a soft whine. The beast inside him still raged and growled, so close to the one it wanted to claim as his mate that his scent filled all senses, but Fili fought for control and was yet keeping the upper hand. Or paw, as it were.

Kili was still staring at the creature with impossibly wide eyes. Fili was lowering himself down even more, emitting a soft whine. It was the least threatening sound he was able to make.

And then, suddenly, Kili shuffled a bit away from him, his mouth falling open, and he slowly sat up without taking his eyes of Fili’s crouching form.

He looked at the shirt in his hand. He looked at Fili. He looked at the shirt in his hand. He looked at Fili.

“What the everliving fuck...”

He looked at the shirt again. And then back at Fili.

“Fuck...”

He looked at the shirt again. And then, very, very slowly, up again at Fili.

“Fili?”

Fili whined. Time for another move. Time to leave the city. Probably time to leave the country.

“Fuck,” Kili breathed again. And then a small, incredulous grin formed on his face. “This is sick...”

Trust a nerd to start nerding instead of freaking out.

Now Kili’s hand twitched, he reached out, pulled back his hand, reached out again, very hesitantly, and brushed the fur between Fili’s ears with his fingers.

“Wow...”

Fili rested his head on his paws and closed his eyes. He had to use every bit of strength to fight the beast now. It didn’t want to kill, it wanted to fuck, but Fili had no idea if it wouldn’t amount to the same thing.

“No one is going to believe this...”

_I fucking hope so._

“Wow, I...” Kili swallowed. “What the fuck am I going to do now...”

_Good question._

Kili exhaled in a heavy huff. Then he carefully put the shirt down.

“Oooookaaaaay...” He cleared his throat. “I think this is the point where I carefully retreat, right? Leave your clothes, and go back to the others, and wait for you to come stumbling back into camp tomorrow morning, dirty, crumpled, bedraggled, tired, and hungry.... um... errm... I guess I... I save you some breakfast, okay?”

Fili didn’t move, though it took him every bit of strength he had to keep the beast from following the man it claimed as his mate.

Fili could hear him break into a run as he had reached the edge of the clearing. He managed to keep the beast from following, even after he allowed himself to get up again, but he couldn’t suppress the mournful howl of despair over the loss of his mate. Fili let it, because he knew Kili was lost to him now as well.

* * *

Fili stumbled back into the campsite the next morning exactly as predicted, accompanied by teasing about alcohol and the inability to handle it. Fili took the needling with a shrug; it was better than them knowing the truth. Which made him remember that one of them did.

Fuck.

Kili tried to smile, but the smile looked as if it was about to crawl off his face to hide in his hair. Not that Fili blamed him. Discovering one of your colleagues is a fucking werewolf would make anyone nervous around said colleague.

“Thanks,” he said as Kili held out a plate of beans and sausages to him. “Is there coffee?”

Kili nodded and brought him a mug.

“Thanks,” he said again. “You’re a life saver.”

“In more than one way, right?” Kili whispered as he sat down next to him with his own coffee.

Fili cringed, and after a moment, looked at Kili from the corner of his eyes.

“This is fucking savage.” Kili shook his head with a small, nervous grin.

Fili gritted his teeth. “Shut the fuck up,” he pressed out.

Kili tried to bite back a grin. He seemed equally nervous and caught in morbid fascination, and didn’t leave Fili’s vicinity anymore for the rest of the day.

* * *

Fili wasn’t surprised when Kili avoided him for the following week, while still giving him nervous, calculating looks every now and then.

He was surprised, however, when Kili asked him that Friday during lunch break if he fancied having a pint that evening.

Fili was unable to decline, and found himself at Kili’s side in a pub that night, nursing pints in somewhat uncomfortable silence. After the second one Fili was ready to call it a night, when Kili asked him if he fancied a coffee at his place.

Gobsmacked, Fili nodded in sheer reflex, and kept questioning his sanity all the way to Kili’s place and even after settling down on the sofa with said coffee. He did nothing to escape the situation, however, and felt that he probably owed Kili a few answers.

When Kili sat down next to him on the sofa with the coffee, Fili clamped his hands between his knees and nodded, trying to smile. Kili raised both eyebrows.

“I guess... I guess you have some questions?”

Kili licked his lips and nodded. “I mean… I don’t want to… but…” He took a deep breath. “How did you get it? And it is really every month? How do you keep your shit together? And is it contagious?”

Despite everything, Fili had to grin. Kili was just… so Kili.

“Okay… so I got it when I was hiking in Norway.”

“Norway?” Kili’s eyes widened. “Fucking Norway?”

Fili shrugged. “It was a close shave. They managed to get me to Oslo just in time, and I was lucky, because when I…” He swallowed and his eyes left the here and now. “My first time was… I was so scared…”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Kili took one of his hands and closed his fingers around it. “It’s okay, I was being a dick. You don’t have to talk about it.”

Fili focused his eyes on him again. “I am a fucking werewolf, and you have seen me like that. You have the right to all the answers you want!”

“Hmm.” Kili didn’t let go of Fili’s hand. “It doesn’t really change anything, does it?” He smiled at Fili, that bright, beautiful smile that had captivated Fili’s heart from the very first time he had seen it. “Besides… I don’t really want to talk about it anyway. Not right now.”

Fili frowned. “But I thought you took me home because-”

“I took you home for a... coffee,” Kili said, still smiling.

Fili didn’t fail to notice the pause before the word coffee.

“I mean, we can talk if you want, but I’d rather do something else right now.” Kili finally let go of Fili’s hand.

Mesmerized by his shining, warm, brown eyes, Fili asked helplessly: “And what do you want to do?”

Kili leaned closer, his smile turning sensuous, and his eyelids lowered a bit. “I’d like to kiss you.”

“What?” Fili swallowed. “I’m a fucking werewolf, and you want to kiss me?”

“I can’t smell any dog breath,” Kili replied with a wink.

Fili dragged his hands down his face with a groan.

“Hey,” Kili said and moved closer, then draped an arm around Fili’s shoulder. “Hey. I mean... okay, I was freaked out. But... this is so cool...” He broke off with a frown when Fili looked up again. “No, cool is the wrong word. Fascinating.” He smiled again. “It’s fascinating. You’ve always been fascinating. And now you’re... even more so.”

“I turn into a beast once a month,” Fili said miserably, but didn’t stop Kili’s hand from sneaking into his hair. It had been so long.

“I know.” Kili sighed. “And I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know how this all fits together, but I know I can help you.”

“Help me?”

“Yes.” Kili gave him another bright smile. “I can drive you somewhere where you can... change, and drive you home again, and I can help you make up all sorts of stupid excuses why we can’t do this or that because it’s full moon.”

Fili didn’t know what to say. Kili still smiled, and his fingers were still threaded into Fili’s hair.

“Fili?”

Fili swallowed, caught in Kili’s gaze again.

“Can I kiss you please?”

After staring into his eyes again, deep, warm brown, and shining with emotion, Fili realised that this was it, that this was what he had always wanted, that Kili was the perfect match for him, something he had never even dared to dream about. Someone finally knew his secret, and wasn’t even overly bothered by it. And that someone was someone he had been crushing on like crazy for fuck knows how long. And it had been so long since he had been close to anyone, physically or otherwise.

And then he felt a smile spread on his face, a smile that he found mirrored in Kili’s, and he closed his eyes as Kili leaned forward. Their lips met, shy at first and then with more passion, and their breathing picked up speed as their arms closed around each other while Kili slowly pushed Fili onto his back.

Two cups of coffee cooled forgotten on the table.


End file.
